Fire, explosions total 5 city trucks

Tim Forsberg
Posted 3/7/15

Five of the city’s sanitation trucks were severely damaged by fire Monday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. as they sat parked at the Department of Public Work’s City Yard on Sandy Lane.

A series of …

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Fire, explosions total 5 city trucks

Posted

Five of the city’s sanitation trucks were severely damaged by fire Monday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. as they sat parked at the Department of Public Work’s City Yard on Sandy Lane.

A series of explosions were heard throughout the surrounding neighborhoods when the fire broke out. Smoke was soon seen billowing into the sky, prompting calls inquiring about a plane crash from the other side of the airport.

“We don’t know yet what caused the fire in one of the garbage trucks, there’s a lot of stories that the police department and fire department are trying to sift through at the moment,” said Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, who was on scene shortly after the fire began. “We know that five trucks have been affected, all garbage trucks.”

“We were right around the corner when it happened,” said Warwick’s Fire Chief Edmund Armstrong as the fire was being fought.

While the trucks looked to be a total loss, there were no reported injuries.

“No one got hurt, everything is now out, so now it’s just a question of figuring out what we need to do to deploy things for pickup tomorrow and make sure everything’s okay,” added Mayor Avedisian.

By 5 p.m., the fire was extinguished and the damage was beginning to be assessed.

“Fortunately this was all contained, and we moved trucks that we could. We have five that were damaged and we’ve talked to our insurance company,” said Avedisian. “Now the goal will be to deploy what we have, that’s still operational, to make sure we can pick up trash tomorrow morning.”  

 

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  • bendover

    When asked about trucks being parked next to each other in a row, I thought I heard Mr. Picozzi say to a reporter, "We park them in a row because that is where the engine heating plugs are." HUH? Someone get a copy of that phone conversation with a reporter, I think it may have been channel 12 news...PLEASE tell me that is not so...A $250,000 truck parked next to each other in a row because of a damn PLUG? Why is this like December 7th, 1941 parking all the planes in a row at Henderson field or clustering battleships which made them easy targets? Tell me the citizens of this City are not trusting someone to make an idiotic decision of putting very expensive trucks in a row for convenience? Put the equipment in harms way a second time after the first fire two years ago because nobody thought of moving a plug? WAIT, he'll keep his job and get a raise...This City is headed to hell in a hand basket financially and the powers to be don't give a tinkers damn. Just incredible.

    Tuesday, April 7, 2015 Report this

  • Notbornyesterday

    Bendover, he also said there is only a small amount of parking in that lot. Right or wrong there is no room there. Plus I assume it would cost a lot to run plugs all over the place rather than one central location. Obviously something needs to be fixed that I agree.

    Tuesday, April 7, 2015 Report this